In a surprise move late Tuesday, China's Central Bank said it would raise interest rates for the first time in nearly three years, apparently in the hopes of dampening inflation and cooling off this country's hot property market.

The Central Bank said that effective immediately, it would raise the benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage points. Deposit rates will rise to 2.25 percent, and a key lending rate will climb to 5.56 percent.

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